A good recruiter wants to know that they can trust their employees to do the job they need them to do and do it well. Responsible people tend to be reliable and trustworthy—two qualities that are hard to find in people these days. If you want to portray yourself as such, you can use the word 'Responsible' in your resume.

The word 'responsible' is an excellent addition to your resume. Even so, it does not give the recruiter details about what you've done. You want to highlight specific accomplishments and demonstrate your value to the company based on what you did. If you just state that you're responsible, that doesn't give the recruiter any insight into what you did.

To do this, think about what you accomplished and how it was directly related to your work. Try using another word for 'responsible,' such as 'designed' or 'acquired,' to give a more detailed description of what you did and show off your skills.

By carefully tailoring your resume, you can highlight the skills employers are looking for and boost your chances of landing a job.

I've compiled some synonyms you can use instead of Responsible on your resume, followed by real examples I've written for clients (feel free to use them!).

Resume Synonyms for Responsible:

Directed
Enhanced
Pioneered
Influenced
Spearheaded
Orchestrated
Boosted
Capitalized
Revitalized
Optimized
Maximized
Accomplished
Achieved
Acquired
Attained
Awarded
Closed
Completed
Designed
Exceeded
Finalized
Forged
Navigated
Negotiated
Partnered
Performed
Schemed
Secured
Signed
Sourced
Upsold

How to replace Responsible with a stronger action verb:

Let's look at examples of how you can remove and replace the overused phrase, Responsible, with a stronger synonym and alternative that is more effective at highlighting your achievements.

Before: Weak example using Responsible

• Responsible for issue resolution and customer advocacy

⤸

After: Using a stronger synonym• Acted as key contact for issue resolution and customer advocacy, reducing issues and complaints by over 45%..

Replacing Responsible with Directed ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for team operations and project management

⤸

After: Directed• Directed team operations, successfully completing 5 major projects 2 months ahead of deadline.

As a hiring manager, I favour quantified results and clear direction. By switching 'responsible' to 'directed', it better emphasizes the candidate's leadership and proactive approach. By mentioning the successful completion of projects, it provides evidence of this candidate's efficiency and effectiveness.

Tip: I've prepared a ton of additional examples for you to give you inspiration. Please click on any of the following to expand and see real examples of how I've rewritten client bullet points.

Replacing Responsible with Enhanced ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for improving user interface of application.

⤸

After: Enhanced• Enhanced the user interface of our company's leading application, boosting user-satisfaction by 37%.

By using 'enhanced' instead of 'responsible', it shows the direct impact candidate has made. Mentioning the percentage increase in user-satisfaction not only quantifies the candidate's achievements, but also demonstrates that they improved a critical aspect of the product.

Replacing Responsible with Pioneered ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for new marketing campaigns.

⤸

After: Pioneered• Pioneered creative marketing campaigns, which drove an increase in quarterly sales by 18%.

Using 'pioneered' implies innovation and initiative. The addition of the clear, numerical benefit to the company of an increase in sales percentage illustrates concrete results achieved.

Replacing Responsible with Influenced ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for team morale and performance.

⤸

After: Influenced• Influenced team morale and performance, manifesting in a 25% increase in productivity.

'Influenced' reflects not only leadership and relational skills, but also the power this individual has to make positive changes. Including the specific increase in productivity further highlights the candidate's ability to improve overall team functionality.

Replacing Responsible with Spearheaded ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for new product development.

⤸

After: Spearheaded• Spearheaded development of a new product line, contributing to an annual revenue boost of $1M.

Using 'spearheaded' signifies leadership and direct involvement in the project. Including the specific number for the revenue boost shows concrete results from their effort, making the claim more compelling and credible.

Replacing Responsible with Orchestrated ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for event organization.

⤸

After: Orchestrated• Orchestrated a series of successful corporate events, attracting over 10,000 attendees in total.

'Orchestrated' implies meticulous planning and foresight from the candidate, setting a positive image. By stating the number of attendees attracted, it provides concrete proof of the impact and achievement.

Replacing Responsible with Boosted ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for improving sales figures.

⤸

After: Boosted• Boosted quarterly sales figures by 30%, leading to a substantial increase in company profits.

Changing 'responsible' to 'boosted' provides a stronger, more dynamic impression. Including quantifiable results backs up their claims with evidence, demonstrating a clear impact on the company's bottom line.

Replacing Responsible with Capitalized ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for leveraging market trends.

⤸

After: Capitalized• Capitalized on emerging market trends, resulting in a 20% sales increase in the following quarter.

'Capitalized' conveys a strategic and opportunistic approach. Adding the specific result of a sales increase shows the beneficial consequences of the candidate's actions.

Replacing Responsible with Revitalized ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for refreshing the company brand image.

⤸

After: Revitalized• Revitalized company's brand image, leading to a 15% increase in brand recognition.

'Revitalized' suggests the applicant's ability to inject new life into existing elements. Indicating the increase in brand recognition quantifies the effectiveness of their work.

Replacing Responsible with Optimized ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for company's website speed.

⤸

After: Optimized• Optimized the company's website speed, reducing page load time by 35%.

By using 'optimized', we directly attribute the action to the candidate. Including the reduction percentage in load time adds a concrete, measurable achievement, which gives their claim more weight.

Replacing Responsible with Maximized ▾

Before: Responsible

• Responsible for maximizing ROI on digital marketing campaigns.

⤸

After: Maximized• Maximized ROI on digital marketing campaigns, delivering a 45% increase on ad spend.

Replacing 'responsible' with 'maximized' demonstrates an impactful outcome. By quantifying the increase in ROI, it puts into perspective the candidate's capabilities and how they were able to drive results.

How to use these synonyms in practice

We've put together an infographic to give you more examples of how to put this into practice. Note the use of strong action verbs instead of words like Responsible.

More resume bullet point samples that use strong synonyms

How to use Overhauled on a resume:

• Overhauled the obsolete legacy source code of two production applications, resulting in increased usability and reduced run time performance by 50%.

How to use Pitched on a resume:

• Pitched 25+ stocks to the investment team and portfolio managers, resulting in the addition of 6 stocks to the firm's portfolio with investment returns of more than 15% in 12 months.

How to use Performed on a resume:

• Performed financial analysis to evaluate public and private financing alternatives to strengthen client's balance sheet.

How to use Managed on a resume:

• Managed a cross-functional team of 10 in 3 locations (London, Mumbai and New York), ranging from entry-level to Ph.D. analysts, and closely collaborated with business development, data analysis, operations and marketing teams.

How to use Analyzed on a resume:

• Analyzed 50+ companies to identify potential investments, built valuation models, and visited 90+ members of senior management in Germany, Nigeria, Indonesia and Singapore to evaluate companies' growth outlook.

How to use Reduced on a resume:

• Reduced time to render the video by 75% by implementing prediction algorithm and delayed graphics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for Responsible on a resume?

If you're looking for another word to use in place of Responsible, consider using one of these stronger alternatives:

Closed
Schemed
Partnered
Signed
Achieved
Forged

What is another way of saying Responsible on a resume?

Here are some synonyms for commonly repeated words, like Responsible, I see on resumes:

Performed
Awarded
Completed
Secured
Closed
Signed

Get a free resume review: Find out if your action verbs are strong enough.

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